Bringing together media theorist Darin Barney and documentary filmmaker Amy Miller, we will illuminate some of the battle lines and divisions at play in the global response to climate change, paying particular attention to the politics of pipelines, the impacts of carbon markets, and resistance from the communities most impacted.

How are countries affected by and responsible for climate change? Are countries the right vehicles – the right organizational forms – for addressing climate change? What are the limitations and failures of countries (especially our own) in this work?

How does climate change and environmental injustice affect our communities? How do communities respond and adapt to environmental disasters?How do communities build capacity, resilience and infrastructure to resist climate change?

Scientist Linda S. Birnbaum, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) joined this expedition along Brooklyn’s waterfront with interest in assessing contamination exposure risks to human health, and threats from extreme weather events such as Hurricane Sandy. The Sunset Park neighborhood an environmentally overburdened area within NYC’s storm surge zone.